ArticleIntegrative cancer therapies
Electroacupuncture Versus Auricular Acupressure Versus WaitliSt Control for Endocrine Therapy-Related Joint Pain in Patients With Breast Cancer (EASE): Study Protocol for a Pragmatic Multicenter Randomised Controlled Trial.
Article in Integrative cancer therapies. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
39 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BackgroundThe incidence of breast cancer has been steadily increasing in recent years. Endocrine therapy, as a first-line treatment, is typically required for 5 to 10 years. However, joint pain is one of the most common adverse effects, affecting 50%-70% of patients and significantly compromising treatment adherence and quality of life. Current management strategies have limited efficacy. Electroacupuncture has been shown to alleviate joint pain intensity and improve related symptoms, but the need for frequent hospital visits imposes a logistical burden on patients and their families, which may reduce adherence and limit accessibility. Auricular acupressure offers a simple and safe alternative that provide sustained stimulation, and facilitates hospital-guided, home-based self-management between clinic visits. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of electroacupuncture and auricular acupressure versus waitlist control for endocrine therapy-related joint pain in patients with breast cancer.Methods and analysisThis multicentre, pragmatic, three-arm randomised controlled trial will enrol 200 eligible participants with breast cancer experiencing endocrine therapy-related joint pain. Participants will be randomised in a 2:2:1 ratio to receive electroacupuncture, auricular acupressure, or waitlist control. The primary outcome is the change from baseline to week 8 in the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) worst pain score. Secondary outcomes include the BPI-SF pain severity and pain interference scores, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Global Health scale, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Endocrine Symptoms (FACT-ES), the EuroQol-5 Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L), the Quantitative Analgesic Questionnaire (QAQ), and the Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ). Intervention adherence, endocrine therapy usage, and adverse events will also be recorded. Analyses will follow the modified intention-to-treat principle. The trial will compare each active intervention with the waitlist control and assess whether auricular acupressure is non-inferior to electroacupuncture.Ethics and DisseminationThis study protocol has been approved by the ethics committees of the participating institutions. The trial results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.